Additional Information on Mandrarossa Nero D'avola

Varietal: Nero D'avola

In Sicily, the beautiful Mediterranean island off the Italian coast, one of the most important grape varietals grown is the Nero d'Avola, a black skinned grape indigenous to the country and one which has been cultivated and used for wine production for centuries. The Nero d'Avola is often compared to Australian Shiraz, as it also has a distinctively peppery and spicy character. However, the Nero d'Avola also holds deep and rich flavors of plum and other dark fruits, making it a delightful grape for making complex and interesting wines. One of the most important and well known uses for the Nero d'Avola grape varietal is in the Marsala wines for which Sicily is famous, and it is also used in several excellent still wines. The grapes thrive in dry and arid conditions, and recent decades have seen them planted in California and elsewhere in the New World.

Region: Sicily

Sicily has been an important wine region for thousands of years, with the ancient Greek settlers being among the first to discover its remarkable aptitude for viticulture. It isn't difficult to understand why they were impressed, and nor is it hard to understand why the island's wine industry continues to boom to this day. The climate on Sicily is ideal for wine production â sunshine beating down on the vineyards almost all year round, and a highly fertile volcanic soil produced from such magnificent peaks as Mount Etna. Sicily's vineyards are mostly used for the production of sweet dessert wines and fortified wines, such as the famous wine of Marsala, but the variety found across the island is impressive, and results in a great range of dry white and red wines packed full of exciting fruit flavors.

Country: Italy

There are few countries in the world with a viticultural history as long or as illustrious as that claimed by Italy. Grapes were first being grown and cultivated on Italian soil several thousand years ago by the Greeks and the Pheonicians, who named Italy 'Oenotria' â the land of wines â so impressed were they with the climate and the suitability of the soil for wine production. Of course, it was the rise of the Roman Empire which had the most lasting influence on wine production in Italy, and their influence can still be felt today, as much of the riches of the empire came about through their enthusiasm for producing wines and exporting it to neighbouring countries. Since those times, a vast amount of Italian land has remained primarily for vine cultivation, and thousands of wineries can be found throughout the entire length and breadth of this beautiful country, drenched in Mediterranean sunshine and benefiting from the excellent fertile soils found there. Italy remains very much a 'land of wines', and one could not imagine this country, its landscape and culture, without it.